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2E ordinance gets initial go ahead

Jack Darnell: Absent budget amendment 'it will still work out'

By Jenni Grubbs

The Fort Morgan Times

Posted:
03/07/2019 01:00:00 AM MST

Jack Darnell, a former Fort Morgan mayor, gets ready to speak to the City Council during the public hearing on the ordinance to implement changes to the City Charter based on the 2E ballot initiative. He was the only member of the public to speak during the hearing Tuesday night. (Jenni Grubbs / The Fort Morgan Times)

The Fort Morgan City Council on Tuesday night gave its first approval to Ordinance No. 1226, which would implement the changes to the City Charter based on the 2E ballot initiative voters approved last November.

First, the Council held a public hearing on the proposed ordinance. Former Mayor Jack Darnell, one of the main proponents of 2E, was the only member of the public to speak during this hearing.

During his comments, Darnell's main request was for the Council to amend the ordinance to better define how the chief of police or equivalent chief sets the police department's budget, as well as how that departmental budget fits into the overall city budget process.

Darnell wanted the ordinance to direct the police chief or equivalent chief to present the police department budget directly to the Council separately, and have it not be part of the city manager's overall budget presentation.

"All I'm asking for tonight is one change," Darnell said.

That did not happen, though.

Councilmember Lisa Northrup thanked Darnell for his comments, but she said that while the chief is the one who puts the police department budget together, it still has to "fit in the overall umbrella" of the city budget, so coordination between the police department and city manager would be required.

"I believe we are working very strongly toward that," she said.

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Also during the public hearing, the Council discussed some potential day-to-day human resources issues that could come up under the new set-up, including how departmental employee evaluations would work and whether a separate board would be created for the purposes of appeals of disciplinary rulings by the chief.

The Council asked questions and heard from Interim City Attorney Geoff Wilson on these matters.

What was established during the hearing was that evaluations would be done according to overall city human resources policy, with the chief being at the top level for the police department, instead of the city manager. This would be applied in the same way as for employees working under appointed officials who report directly to the council, such as the fire chief and city attorney.

It also was established the language in the ordinance would set the chief as the top of the ladder for disciplinary rulings for specific employees.

Wilson said the 2E implementation ordinance required not just a legal interpretation, but a political interpretation of what the voters intended. He said that whatever the Council determined that to be would be put in place legally through the ordinance.

"I think the cookie cutter version of what was intended was a complete separation," Mayor Ron Shaver said, looking at Schultz and telling him, "You're the one in charge."

The Council voted to close the public hearing, which had lasted 25 minutes, and then moved into the action part of the agenda item.

Shaver first called for any amendments to the ordinance, but none were made. He then asked for action on the ordinance.

The Council then unanimously approved Northrup's resolution to approve the ordinance on first reading.

After the meeting, the mayor told The Fort Morgan Times he thought the ordinance was "pretty much what was intended," and the Council's discussion during the public hearing was about "just trying to make clarifications" on how some things would work under the ordinance if or when it is finalized.

"The chief will be on his own," Shaver said, pointing out it would be like it already is with the city attorney and fire chief.

On Wednesday afternoon, Darnell told The Fort Morgan Times that he was disappointed that the Council had not listened to him and amended the ordinance about the police department budget preparation, but he thinks "it will still work out."

He said most of what the 2E proponents wanted was included in the ordinance.

"I think most of the stuff we wanted was in there," Darnell said. "The intent was to separate it from one person. The idea was to have the chief reporting to a board."

Under the ordinance, the chief would report directly to the Council.

Darnell said he will be watching to see how the budget process goes over the next year or two. If there are problems with it for the police department, he and other concerned residents could always seek further charter changes.

"If it goes smoothly, we'll probably leave it how it is," he said.

The 2E implementation ordinance will require one more reading and approval by the Council in order to become final.

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